The Feng Shui expert would make up a report on the new, proposed dwelling which included ... (1) Ch'i energy flow through and around the house. (2) Whether the dwelling was yin or yang. (3) Whether you and your family will thrive in the dwelling based on the Lo-pan and a horoscope reading. (4) What needs to be done to the dwelling to improve your health and prosperity.

Corrections to the dwelling might include the hanging of mirrors to divert unhealthy energies, the movement or addition of plants, the changing of colors, using water fountains and wind chimes to break up stagnant Ch'i.

To Feng Shui your home, you need to map your environment ... on a piece of paper draw an overview of your home ... make the sketch into a square or rectangle ... if the house is not a natural square then fill in areas to make the house into a square. Next, divide it into 9 portions ... split the length into 3rds, then split the width into 3rds.

There are four thypes of Ch'i ... (1) Growing ch'i from the east ... (2) Nourishing ch'i from the south ... (3) Hidden Ch'i from the north ... (4) disruptive ch'i from the west. There is a thread that connects the Feng Shui compass and the ch'i from the north, south, east and west.

THE ENTRY WAY
If one faces a wall upon entering a building or office, a well placed mirror can expand the area and at the same time give a sense of hope and broadened horizons to everyone who enters.

FURNITURE PLACEMENT
When placing furniture it is important not to block, interfere, distort, or force the flow of Chi. You do not want to cram furniture and accessories into a tight space

Raise beds, chairs, and couches at least a few inches off the floor. This allows Chi to move freely. Putting the minimum in the room is the best approach. Position the furniture so it has a good view of the entryway. This goes for couches, desks, sink, stove, chairs, beds. If there isn't a way to achieve this then place a mirror so you can see the entry. This way it protects you from suprises. There should be at least three feet of space between furniture. This goes for a night stand next to the bed and a couch and the coffee table.

HEALTH
Place the colors green, black, and red in the east part of your home. That is where the sun rises at your house. Put images of the following in this area also: streams, trees and fish ponds. Adding a plant or organic accessories, with bright lights will be good to add to this area.

FAMILY
This is the area that the sun sets in your house. This is the west. The best colors to use for this area is white, dark blue and yellow. Family photos, toys, awards, crystals, stones and round shapes go great in this area.

FAME
This is the south part of the home. This could also represent the area of the home that gets the most natural sunlight all day. Colors are red and yellow. This is a place to put objects that represent you. Photos of yourself, your awards and trophies. Wood objects, and electrical appliances are good for this area. If you do not have a place in your home that gives out natural sunlight then you can create your own with lights and heat.

BUSINESS
This is in the north end of your home or near the main entry. Use dark blue, white, black or gray colors here. Place irregular shapes and metals like gold, copper and bronze. This is the area that putting your phone, desk and computer is good.

LOVE
Love: The farthest right-hand corner from the entry of any room or the southwest of the house. Use earthy colors like brown and yellow, or the Fire colors such as pink and red. Metals and stones are great. You can also put crystals, romantic objects and photos and still water in this area.

MONEY
The southeast or the far left of the entry of any room. Use the colors green, red or black. Accessories to use are round-leaf plants. To add to the plant or pot tie a red ribbon around it. Place three coins under your plant. Items to keep out of this area are coffee pots, storage items, electrical appliances and pointy plants.

TRAVEL & FRIENDS
This is in the northwest. This is where you can place your luggage, travel posters and brochures. Other accessories can include angel items, rocks, or crystals. The best colors to use are silvery white, light blue and turquoise.

KNOWLEDGE
This is in the northeast. The best colors are white, gray, red, yellow and brown. Use earthy materials and metals. This is a good place for books, notebooks, computers and an office with all the equipment.

BEDROOMS
The majority of the population spends at least a third of their lives in bed, which makes the position and placement an important issue when considering Feng Shui. The first consideration is the bed's relative position to the door. Feng Shui experts strongly suggest placing a bed diagonally, facing the door so that one lying in the bed can see who is entering. (The Chinese avoid having a bed's feet aimed directly at the door, which resembles coffins in mortuaries, thus evoking foreboding of death.)

Large bureaus and armoires, if placed next to or near the foot of the bed, can also imbalance the occupants' chi, inhibiting body movements and disturbing internal harmony. Beds should generally rest against a wall. Otherwise, the occupant will feel unstable with nothing to lean on in life.

Many Feng Shui professionals suggest placing the bed in accordance with the ba-gua diagram. A bed facing north means business will be good; facing northeast brings on intelligence and learning; east means family life will be happy, rewarding, and peaceful; southeast indicates wealth; south will bring in fame; southwest means a good spouse and happy marital relations; west promises fame for future generations; northwest indicates travel far and wide.

LIVING ROOMS
Living rooms are meant to receive guests, therefore are less complicated. However, they should be light and large and devoid of Feng Shui ills such as beams, oddly shaped corners and angles, or three windows or doors in a row. The host's favorite chair should face the entrance, as not to be startled by in coming guests or family members. Living Rooms should include certain shapes, pictures, and objects instilled with symbolic powers with which the resident identifies, such as a ba-gua shaped rug or rounded tables. Many traditional Chinese homes hang a variety of watercolors, such as flowers and plants (mainly peonies), which symbolize peace and long life.

KITCHENS
The traditional Chinese families pay close attention to the kitchen, especially the placement of the stove and rice cooker. Stoves are traditionally the symbolic sources of fortune because food is cooked there. It is believed that food affects health, emotions, and behavior, which makes cooking satisfaction crucial. Lin Yun states, "From our food comes health and effectiveness. If it is well prepared and of good quality, we will do well in the world, earn more money to buy even better food."

Because food is so important in the Chinese household, the stove should be placed in such a location as to not be in a cramped corner, inhibiting the cook's chi, but should allow the cook room to work. Likewise, the stove should not be placed in a position that forces the cook to stand with his/her back to the door. If a cook faces away from the door, health, wealth, and domestic harmony will suffer. One precaution, according to Sarah Rossbach, is to "hang a mirror above the stove so the cook can see any intruder, or to hang a bell or wind chime near the door so that before the visitor enters, he knocks against it". Another precaution is to hang a mirror, slightly slanted, over the stove so as to see any intruders without becoming startled.

Many Chinese also hang a picture of the kitchen God over their stoves; this God watches over the family and the hearth. A sort of spy for heaven, every New Years he makes a journey up to the skies to report on the family. Before he embarks, he is bribed with food offerings and his mouth is smeared with honey so he will say only sweet things about the family.

COLORS
Adding color to create harmony and balance in your home environment is one of the easiest and most rewarding Feng Shui adjustments you can make. Readers acquainted with the Bagua used in Feng Shui's Black Hat Tantric Sect tradition know that specific colors are associated with each of the Bagua sections, and that each section relates also to an area of your life. The Bagua is a map that is applied to a plot of land, a building or a room to identify which areas of the house relate to the specific areas of our lives.

For instance, red is associated with personal reputation, pink relates to marriage and love relationships, white to children and creativity, gray to the supportive people in our lives, black to careers, blue to knowledge and education, green to family, and purple to wealth or our financial situation. Using the color that relates to the life area in your decor in that section of your house or room can strengthen your success in that area.

Many of us shy away from making color adjustments in our homes for fear it won't look right or others might not like it. Our tendency is to play it safe and stick with neutral whites, creams and beiges. And there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, neutral colors can be a great background for bright, colorful accessories. But too little color can keep the chi or energy at a low level causing it to stagnate. Adding color can increase the chi flow and enhance the comfort level and success of the occupants.

On the other hand, too much color can set up a feeling of chaos in the environment. I've visited homes where I couldn't relax and my eyes didn't know where to focus because there were too many items on the walls and too much color in the room. I often caution my clients that "more is not necessarily better" in Feng Shui practice. Adding purple matting to a favorite poster or painting in your wealth area can be just as powerful as painting an entire wall in shades of eggplant.

PLANTS
As living things, healthy plants naturally have a strong life force and, therefore, are an easy solution to many Feng Shui problems. Plants can lift and balance the chi of a room, an entire building and exterior landscapes.

For instance, live plants increase the oxygen content and cleanse the air of pollutants that become trapped in closed, air-conditioned and heated rooms. They also diffuse electrical currents that emanate from electromagnetic fields associated with electronic equipment. I advise business clients, and homeowners and apartment dwellers as well, to place live plants near computers, printers and fax machines. The results are usually immediate with people commenting on how differently they feel. Where previously they were tired and unable to concentrate in that space, they now comment on feeling energized and productive.

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